zuvorkommen

[t͡suˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]

/[t͡suˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]/ verb

The verdict

“zuvorkommen” is uncommon German (frequency #69,931 among 1,996 “Z” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,931
frequency rank, German
1,996
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - schneller sein als ein anderer (und damit als Erster etwas tun, was sonst der andere getan hätte)

Corpus desk

Index DE-zuvorkommen · zuvorkommen · German

zuvorkommen · rank #69,931 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,931
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,996
  • PHOTO-FINISH Zuschreibungen

Nearest frequency peer: Zuschreibungen (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „zuvorkommen“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „zuvorkommen“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for zuvorkommen
PropertyValue
Headwordzuvorkommen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[t͡suˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]
Letters11
Frequency rank#69,931
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „zuvorkommen“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.zuvorkommenfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Zuschreibungen“ (#69,930), „Zwangslage“ (#69,932), „Zusammenfluss“ (#69,929). Unter 1,996 „Z“-Lemmata liegt „zuvorkommen“ bei #69,931. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

zuvorkommen is uncommon German at frequency #69,931 among 1,996 “Z” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [t͡suˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for zuvorkommen, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is zuvorkommen, spelled Z-U-V-O-R-K-O-M-M-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    schneller sein als ein anderer (und damit als Erster etwas tun, was sonst der andere getan hätte)
  2. 2
    etwas in Voraussicht schon rechtzeitig entgegentreten, zum Beispiel um ein drohendes Problem zu vermeiden

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how zuvorkommen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Die beiden waren mir wirklich schon wieder zuvorgekommen!
  2. „Marie öffnete den Mund zu einer Antwort, doch Jane kam ihr zuvor.“

Antonyms

das Nachsehen haben

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "zuvorkommen"?
"zuvorkommen" is spelled Z-U-V-O-R-K-O-M-M-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [t͡suˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən].
What does "zuvorkommen" mean?
As a verb, "zuvorkommen" means: schneller sein als ein anderer (und damit als Erster etwas tun, was sonst der andere getan hätte)
How do you pronounce "zuvorkommen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zuvorkommen" is [t͡suˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "zuvorkommen" come from?
"zuvorkommen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "zuvorkommen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list